Elton John talks stigma at AIDS Foundation Gala

Elton John has discussed the stigma and challenges surrounding the fight against AIDS at an AIDS Foundation Gala.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation celebrated its 25th Anniversary on Tuesday night (November 7), inviting a host of celebrities down to celebrate the humanitarian work of its founder. Neil Patrick Harris, Aretha Franklin and Bill Clinton were among those in the audience.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the event, Elton discussed the stigma that still surrounds the disease. “I’m very proud of the foundation and what we achieve, how we work, how we raise money, how we spend it and how we don’t waste it. But hopefully in another 10 years, this will be over,” John said. “We have the medicine to make this disease go away — we just have to make the stigma go away and pull people together as a human entity.”

A postal vote is taking place in the country to decide whether or not to legalise gay marriage. Voting opened on September 12 and the result will be announced on November 15.

Elton posted an emotional Instagram post, revealing the “guilt and regret” he felt being previously married to a woman, saying he had “denied who I really was”. The singer married German recording engineer Renate Blauel in 1984 in Sydney, and they divorced in 1988.

Elton has been with partner David Furnish since 1993. The couple married in 2014 when gay marriage became legal in the UK, and have two sons – Zachary, six, and Elijah, four.